So much of the hubris that surrounded conceptual art in the 1950s through '70s was that it had this arrogant presupposition that pointing in and of itself was a creative act. It never rigorously politically and socially analyzed the fact that the luxury to point is something that so many people throughout the world don't have.

I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where people are in cars.

While I can hire out the portrait, I don't, because it's just - that's where I shine. You know, that's my blood sport.

The art world has become so insular. The rules have become so autodidactic that, in a sense, they lose track of what people have any interest in thinking about, talking about or even looking at.

You have to bring books to explain your work.

In the Studio Museum in Harlem, when I was dealing with that community and dealing with my peers in the streets, it allowed for me to get outside of Yale, to get outside of art-speak, and to really think about art as a material practice that has very useful and pragmatic material precedent.

I think there's something important in going against the grain, and perhaps finding value in things that aren't necessarily institutionally recognized.